


Tehtar - Markings

by DoubtingRabbit



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Fanart, Fluff without Plot, Gift Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubtingRabbit/pseuds/DoubtingRabbit
Summary: A plotless fluff head canon as a birthday gift for CirroStratus. Art by BlitheFool.
Relationships: Fëanor | Curufinwë/Nerdanel
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Tehtar - Markings

**Author's Note:**

> What's the Quenya for "freckles" anyway...?

Nerdanel knew only a few facts about her husband when they were first wed, save for the fact that he had never stopped at a half-way point when completion was on his horizon. The trait had been evident in his intense study under her father's tutelage; Fëanor's daily dedication to the anvil and forge had never disappointed Mahtan in his ardency and desire for knowledge, perfection. She well knew that when consumed with the spirit of creation, the prince's eyes could burn through the very paper he looked upon. All of this had been integral to the attraction, and his unswerving drive was a central pillar of her decision to become his wife.

Which had its drawbacks, she could see that clearly as five years between their wedding night had flitted by - it was that same indomitability that had drawn her originally, Nerdanel now found, could quickly turn inwards on itself and become stubborn and unwavering foolishness in pursuing an end to the neglect of all else. Fëanor would ignore his duties, his projects, his relationships and nearly all but himself in these fits of obsession. This was not the first time in the five year duration of their marriage that she found herself alone in their marital quarters waiting on Fëanor to join her for a long-planned event, only to be left watching the light fade from golden to silvery through the arc of widows.

Nor did she expect it to be the last. His running project ate up his hours, and the time he did not spend bending shapes in ink to follow the flow of his tongue he would use to regain his energy. A bitterness had begun to gather in her heart.

When she felt Fëanor's presence enter the room, she gathered up the energy to argue… but the prince's eyes tinged with his furious fire, and his high, fine brow smudged with ink, Nerdanel could not help but give him the forgiveness he asked of her. The counsel he begged of her.

Nerdanel led him to the bed where she sat while he paced around the perimeter and vented his frustrations with his occupation, hands flying about like birds as he attempted to explain his issue (the drawn, open sounds and the short, rough-breathing ones that ran through the tongue) nodding and falling back into the bed, letting his words wash over her. As his voice calmed and the heat he radiated had abated somewhat, she offered her hand and he took it.

Joining her, Fëanor's jittering soon soothed and he finally rested against Nerdanel with his face buried in springy curls and combing his long fingers through them until they separated into a coppery halo across the coverlet of their bed. He sighed, one last expression of his pent up frustration, and said, "If only I could find a differentiation for the sounds and length of the breathing."

She shushed him. He finally quieted.

Fëanor's fingers traced over the edge of her neckline more lazily, and Nerdanel purred. He ran them over the long, fine lines of her neck and she sighed. He drew his fingers over dawn-gold skin splattered with shadows of marks, both vague and sharp in relief on her skin. Connecting the swoops that ran in constant motion through his mind, the swirls and fingers walking across the clear freckles on her cheek. Three fingers, then two, another sharp swoop. He froze.

"Markings," he whispered.

"... what?"

Fëanor lept from the bed, thanked her profusely for her wise approach, and had he not kissed her in his gratitude for solving his problem.

**Author's Note:**

> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/183218036@N07/49861374157/in/dateposted-public/)


End file.
